June 16, 2012

Name:

Sugar

Age:

One year old

Gender:

Female

Kind:

Goffin's Cockatoo

Home:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Sugar
had a rough first year of life. I don't have an exact hatchdate, but I
was told in early April she was about ten months. Hubs and I just decided that
her "Gotcha Day" would serve as her hatchday (May 1st) as well. We were told
she was DNA sexed female back in December 2011, but her former owners have
not given us any paperwork regarding her. No vet records, no DNA sexing
certificate, nothing. She doesn't even have a band! The only thing I have
proving that she is "mine" is the bill of sale from where I adopted her from.
Sugar was on Consignment at a local "store" (it's more than a store). I had
been interested in a Mollucan Cockatoo, but when I went back in after really
contemplating whether or not we could do a 'Too at all, I discovered she had
been adopted out.

Then I heard a very soft, barely audible "Hi" from behind me. When I turned
around, there she was! A beautiful, shy Goffin. I knew she had to be the one
to say Hi because I knew all the birds around her, knew their "voices" and it
wasn't any of theirs. So I stood and talked with her for a bit. Then I talked
to the owner who told me that the Goffin was indeed available. I was told her
owners were rehoming her because the bird had rarely been in her cage and
then the owner had a baby and the bird was being kept in the cage a lot and
screaming the whole time. I was told they were really "torn up" about it, but
given that they haven't been very helpful with the paperwork, I'm not sure
what to believe. Anyway, we thought about it for a couple of days and when we
went back in, the owner of the store told us to go ahead and take her out,
handle her and not to rush to a decision. While we were doing that, someone
started asking about her and when my heart started pounding, I just knew I
had to have her!

I'd always wanted a Goffin, but had only seen one in the last five years. At
this point Sugar was snuggling up against me, even though she seemed very
scared. I looked at my husband, he looked at me, then promptly went over and
put a deposit down on her. With a nice arrangement, we went in three to four times a
week to see Sugar until we were ready to take her home. She isn't as cuddly
as our other bird Loki (shocking! aren't 'Toos supposed to be cuddly?), and
she definitely was traumatized by a towel at one point in her life because
she absolutely hates them. But I adore her. She's prissy, sweet, rarely bites
(she's beaky, but rarely rarely ever bites down) and is attempting to talk
even though Goffins aren't known to be talkers. She is my baby through and
through, but is good with the whole family, including my seven-year-old daughter.
She's just a fantastic addition to our clan.